Everything about Iraqi Communist Party totally explained
Since its foundation in 1934, the
Iraqi Communist Party (in
Arabic: الحزب الشيوعي العراقي) has dominated the
left in
Iraqi politics. It played a fundamental role in shaping the political history of
Iraq between its foundation and the 1970s. The Party was involved in many of the most important national uprisings and demonstrations of the 1940s and 1950s. It suffered heavily from 1978 under the repressive regime of
Saddam Hussein, but remained an important element of the Iraqi opposition, and was a vocal opponent of the United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after the
Kuwait War of 1991. It opposed the
United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 but since then has participated in the new political institutions. It received little support in the
Iraqi general elections of 2005.
Fahd's leadership and after
In 1941
Fahd, the cadre name of
Yusuf Salman Yusuf, became secretary of the party, and set about revamping the organization and expanding membership among the working classes. He successfully laid the basis for the mass party of later years, and under his leadership the party became a considerable force among the Iraqi working class and a major focus for protest against British involvement in Iraqi affairs.
In 1949, after the suppression of the revolutionary upsurge expressed in
al-Wathbah (the Leap) of 1948, Fahd and two comrades were executed. The party recovered, and played a major role in the
Intifada of 1952. In 1958, it supported the revolution and the new government of
Abd al-Karim Qasim, who relied to a considerable degree on its support.
The party under Qasim, 1958-1963
The relationship between the party and Qasim wasn't an easy one. By the summer of 1959 the party had perhaps between 20,000 and 25,000 members. This, added to their ability to mobilise the masses and their penetration of the workforces in strategic industries, made Qasim fear the party's growing power. In July 1959, he ordered a minor crackdown on the party. It was unsure how to react. Some elements, around first secretary
Husain al-Radi (also known as Salam 'Adil), suggested launching a coup, but the more conservative elements opposed this. In fact the party would continue to support Qasim, more or less critically, up until his overthrow in February 1963. In the last two years of his rule, Qasim greatly weakened the party by suppressing largely or completely most of its flanking organisations, including the Democratic Youth Federation and workers' and students' unions. By the time of the 1963 coup the increasing unpopularity of Qasim, with whom the Communists were still linked in the public mind, coupled with the repressive measures he'd adopted against them, had contributed to reducing the party's membership to under 10,000.
The party under Baathist rule
The
Ba'athist coup of 8 February 1963 was accompanied by street fighting as Communist activists and supporters resisted the coup attempt. Fighting in Baghdad continued for three days, concentrated in the party's strongholds in the poorer, mainly Shia, districts. When the Baath consolidated its power the ICP suffered an unprecedented campaign of mass physical liquidation. Leading figures and cadres of the Party were tortured to death, including Husain al-Radi. The total number of communists killed is unknown, but was certainly in the thousands.
In the mid 1960s the
U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 15000 (0.47% of the working age population of the country).
In 1967
Aziz al-Hajj split from the ICP, establishing the
Iraqi Communist Party - Central Command, and initiated an armed struggle, which the ICP at the time opposed.
In 1973 ICP secretary
Aziz Muhammad signed a National Action Pact with President
Hasan al-Bakr, forming a National Front together with the
Ba'ath Party. The ICP was permitted to operate legally, publish and revive its flanking organisations. However, this was coupled with elements of repression, and by the autumn of 1974 the party tried to increase its security through a more clandestine mode of operation. In 1978
Saddam Hussein unleashed a renewed campaign of repression against the party, including the execution of large numbers of party members. In 1979 the party officially broke with the regime.
In 1993 the
Kurdish branch of the party was transformed into a semi-autonomous party, the
Kurdistan Communist Party.
After the occupation of Iraq
The Iraqi Communist Party opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 but decided to work with the new political institutions established after the occupation. Its secretary,
Hamid Majid Mousa, accepted a position on the
Interim Iraq Governing Council. The party was the principal component of the
People's Union (Iraq) list for the general election on January 30, 2005 (see
Iraqi legislative election, January 2005) but filed separate lists in some governorate council elections (see for instance
Ninawa governorate council election, 2005). For the
Iraqi legislative election, December 2005, the party has joined the
Iraqi National List of
Iyad Allawi, along with other socialist, secular, moderate Sunni and moderate Shiite parties.
The party newspaper is
Tariq ash-Shaab (Path of the People). It also publishes the magazine
Al-Thakafa Al-Jedida (The New Culture
(External Link
)).
The youth wing of the party is the
Iraqi Democratic Youth Federation.
The motto of the party is
a free homeland and a happy people (
Arabic:
watanun hurrun wa sha'bun sa'id).
The following is a list of persons who served as Secretary or First Secretary of the
Iraqi Communist Party, the party's primary leadership position. Given the occasional suppression of the party and resultant lapses in its activity, the position was at times vacant.
Published works
- Batatu, Hanna. The Old Social Classes and New Revolutionary Movements of Iraq, London, al-Saqi Books. 1978, republished, 2004. ISBN 0-86356-520-4
- Salucci, Ilario. A People's History of Iraq: The Iraqi Communist Party, Workers' Movements and the Left 1923-2004. Haymarket Books (2005) ISBN 1-931859-14-0
Further Information
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